Conversations and Questions from the Indian Context. Hindus often have a high view of Jesus, but they struggle with traditions and customs around Christianity and church. 'Christian Barriers to Jesus' challenges readers to examine nine barrier-producing Christian traditions from three perspectives:

• Concerns that Hindus commonly raise about the traditions• Assumptions that Christians may hold about the traditions• Teachings of Jesus and Scripture that often question those Christian traditions that confuse, offend, and alienate Hindus from Jesus.

This book suggests that we are not asking deep enough questions about what is essential for following Jesus and what is non-essential human invention. If we truly care about Jesus, we must honestly address where those non-essential traditions unnecessarily alienate millions of people from him.

Christian Barriers . . . is a path-breaking work which examines systematically the obvious, and, the more subtle, factors that keep most Indian people from becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. It is an honest inventory of the legacy that “Christendom” has bequeathed on the Hindu people, and carefully documents why they reject the claims of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. At a time when many Christians and mission agencies in India are being forced to discover (and re-discover) their true raison d’etre, Paul Pennington invites scholars and practitioners to get back to the “original fact of Jesus.” Making this shift will not be painless, but is essential if Hindus are to hear—and see—the Good News, without the elaborate (and unnecessary) socio-religio-cultural stumbling blocks that have been unwittingly erected by Christians down the ages. Thank you, Paul Pennington, for calling us to return to our eternal, original foundations. --Peter Ignatius, President, Lakeview Bible College & Seminary, Chennai, India

The religious world of the Hindu and its labyrinth of unreached peoples has long presented the Christian movement with inscrutable barriers. But any radical incarnational witness to reduce these barriers will be sure to threaten the more conventional church life in India. Paul Pennington has chosen to journey alongside these churches and dialogue with them on their Christian responsibility for these barriers. The biblically reasoned curricula that has emerged, so long overdue, promises to free the log jam of misunderstanding surrounding incarnational witness among Hindus today. --Brad Gill, editor, International Journal of Frontier Missiology

This is a paradigm-altering study. Standard paradigms of Christianity and church are part of the core problems addressed in this analysis of Christian barriers to Jesus. It hurts to break from long-accepted patterns of thought and practice, but this is part of the pruning that produces more fruit (John 15:1–10) and of the discipline that is painful for a season (Heb 12:11). Always Pennington is a faithful physician seeking to heal and restore, even when he deals with painful realities. --H.L. Richard, author of Following Jesus in the Hindu Context and Hinduism[Less]

Rabi R. Maharaj came from a long line of Brahmin priests and gurus and trained as a yogi. He meditated for many hours each day, but gradually disillusionment set in. He describes Hindu life and custom, vividly and honestly tracing his difficult search for meaning and his struggle to choose between Hinduism and Christianity.

At a time when Eastern mysticism, religion, and philosophy fascinate many in the West, Maharaj offers fresh and important insights from the perspective of his own experience.

"A unique revelation of the inward struggles of a Hindu and the ultimate triumph over death that he discovered. I found it challenging and inspiring. Must reading."--Hal Lindsey[Less]

Making Authentic Relationships Grow. Drawing on thirty years’ experience among Hindus, Timothy Shultz writes this book as a testimony of the kingdom of God growing in a non-Christian environment. Disciple Making among Hindus: Making Authentic Relationships Grow describes how Hindu people experience and respond to Jesus Christ. What are the core values and rhythms of their cultural world? What are the patterns of community and discipleship that help them draw closer to Jesus? Through moving personal stories, biblical reflection, and practical wisdom, Shultz introduces us to the centrality of family, the covenantal relationships that make up Hindu social life, and the yearning for authentic spiritual experience.

While this book will benefit anyone wanting to make disciples among Hindus, it is far more than a strategy of contextualization or a blueprint for successful evangelism. Read it to discover the beauty of Hindus as Jesus sees them—and the beauty of Jesus through Hindu eyes.[Less]

Narayan Vaman Tilak was raised in western India in a Brahmin family as a Hindu of the highest caste. He was an ardent nationalist and gifted poet. Baptized in 1895, he remained one of the most highly placed Hindu leaders to turn to faith in Jesus Christ. This book tells Tilak's story as a pioneer in Protestant mission history.[Less]

A celebration of an unlikely friendship between a Christian missionary and a Hindu activist leader.

"On the day that Mahatma Gandhi was killed, I arrived in Delhi just an hour and a quarter before the tragedy ... the greatest tragedy since the Son of God died on the cross." So begins this compelling account of Gandhi by E. Stanley Jones, the world-renowned missionary evangelist to India during 40 seething years of struggle. Based on an intimate knowledge and understanding, Jones's revealing interpretation was written in gratitude to Gandhi, who, although they often disagreed, showed Jones "more of the spirit of Christ than perhaps any other . . . in East or West."

"Martin Luther King, Jr., told me he owed a debt to my father for his book on Mahatma Gandhi. He had read many books on Gandhi, read his writings, but it was that particular book of my father's that had triggered his decision to use the method of ... nonviolence in his civil rights movement for his people." --Eunice Jones-Mathews

"Jones ... possesses a great gift of sympathetically interpreting the East to the West."--[London] Times Literary Supplement

A Brief Look at Theology, History, Scriptures, and Social System with Comments on the Gospel in India. Visitors to the world of Hinduism seldom probe its complex system of diverse beliefs and practices. If you want to better understand the 900 million Hindus of the world, you must read H. L. Richard's brief but insightful booklet. In Hinduism, he addresses both esoteric and practical issues through numerous selections from the Hindu scriptures, an overview of basic Hindu philosophies, and a glossary of Hindu terminology.

"It is through H.L. Richard more than any other single person that I have come to realize how little I actually know about the Hindu people I have claimed to love, and among whom I have lived most of my life. In the fifteen years that I have been his friend, he has gently revealed to me the complexities of Hindu civilization, and caused me to love and respect Hindus with a greater humility. Through his influence I have been freed to live among them with an honesty and openness I had not known before, and this has brought me closer to them, and closer to my Lord and Sadguru, Jesus Christ." -- Chris Hale (sitarist and singer of the Yeshu bhakti devotional music group, Aradhna.)[Less]

An Analysis of Christian Failings in Communicating Christ to Hindus, with Suggestions towards Improvements. An insightful analysis (based on personal experience) of Christian work among Hindus and the error and inadequacy of Western Christianity in the Hindu world. Numerous telling anecdotes are the greatest strength of this important book. "...He presents the transcultural Good News in culturally understandable ways for the India of the 21st century..." - H. Stanley Wood, Ph.D., Center for New Church Development[Less]

Hindu traditions are diverse and complex. Simple summaries of Hindu beliefs and practices lack appreciation for the allure which captivates Hindus themselves. This collection of papers from seasoned practitioners observes Hindu traditions and Hindu ministry from new angles, introducing new perspectives on ministry in Christâ€™s name that are relevant far beyond the Hindu world. Broad conceptual pictures are presented along with detailed practical advice and introductions to remarkable Hindus who surrendered to Christ and wrestled with the meaning of following Him in their Hindu families. This is the first book to turn to for pointers on sharing Christ with Hindus.

"It is estimated that 86 percent of the Hindus of the world do not personally know a Christian. This illustrates the desperate need to take seriously our calling from God in His Word to do the hardâ€“and sometimes painfulâ€“work of reexamining how we express our faith to people who are so different than us. The Rethinking Forum [headed up by H L Richard] is focused on that very process. This book should challenge your thinking and stimulate you to action." --Greg H. Parsons, Global Director, US Center for World Mission[Less]

How do you share your faith with your Hindu neighbor, colleague, and friend? The Hindu population in North America is growing steadily, now numbering over one million people. However, most Christians know little about Hindu beliefs and practices.

Madasamy Thirumalai, who was raised a Hindu and became a believer in Jesus more than twenty years ago, explains historical and contemporary Hindu customs, ritual practices, and intellectual obstacles to Christianity, and offers practical tips and tools on how to win Hindus to the Lord. Sharing Your Faith With a Hindu is an effective guide for Hindu evangelism both in the United States and abroad.[Less]

2,500 year old classic of Sanskrit literature. This short (18 chapters) but very important work in the canon of Hinduism encompasses the whole spiritual struggle of a human soul. Its three central themes--love, light, and life--arise from the symphonic vision of God in all things and of all things in God.[Less]

Jones recounts his experiences in India, where he arrived as a young and presumptuous missionary who later matured into a veteran who attempted to contextualize Jesus Christ within the Indian culture. He names the mistake many Christians make in trying to impose their culture on the existing culture where they are bringing Christ. Instead he makes the case that Christians learn from other cultures, respect the truth that can be found there, and let Christ and the existing culture do the rest.

BiographyE. Stanley Jones (1884 1973) was a universally admired Christian missionary and evangelist of the 20th century. Called “the world’s greatest missionary evangelist” by TIME magazine in 1938, Jones spent 70 years traveling throughout the world. His approach to evangelism presented Christ as the universal Son of Man without the trappings of Western culture. He delivered tens of thousands of sermons and lectures, traveled 50 weeks a year, and often spoke two to six times a day. His message of the necessity of “surrender” to Jesus Christ and “Jesus is Lord” had a life-changing impact on the millions of people throughout the world who heard him speak or read his books.[Less]

An engrossing and definitive, if controversial, narrative account of history and myth, "The Hindus" offers a new way of understanding one of the world's oldest major religions. Hinduism does not lend itself easily to a strictly chronological account. Many of its central texts cannot be reliably dated within a century; its central tenets arise at particular moments in Indian history and often differ according to gender or caste; and the differences between groups of Hindus far outnumber the commonalities. Yet the greatness of Hinduism lies precisely in many of these idiosyncratic qualities that continues to inspire debate today. This groundbreaking work elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds, the inner life and the social history of Hindus. (Penguin withdrew the book from the Indian market in early 2014 after it caused a stir in India.)

"Don't miss this equivalent of a brilliant graduate course from a feisty and exhilarating teacher." --The Washington Post[Less]

Caste, Conversion & Cultural Revolution. Indian civilization is in tectonic transition. Caste cannot co-exist with democracy which is built on biblical principles of justice and equality. Democracy has inspired Dalits and other lower caste Hindus to rise up against 3,000 years of Hindu "apartheid" hierarchy, sustained by caste, karma and reincarnation. These cultural revolutionaries seek a religious philosophy to buttress their desire for liberty, dignity, human rights and servant leadership. Mangalwadi shows them the way. (published in India)[Less]